PhD and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (DN)

MetacMed Doctoral Network - Doctoral Candidate Position DC8 “Metamaterials and metasurfaces for improved ultrasonic clinical screening”

This PhD position will be part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (DN) on Acoustic and mechanical metamaterials for biomedical and energy harvesting applications – ‘MetacMed’, GRANT-101119738, see www.metacmed.eu, funded by UKRI. Under the supervision of Prof. David Hutchins, Prof Peter Thomas and Dr Oksana Trushkevych. There is also a secondment to the University of Calabria, Italy, for 6 months during the second year.

The MetacMed Doctoral Network

MetacMed aims to link basic acoustic and mechanical metamaterials (MMs) research to health and well-being issues. Looking to consider ways in which human health can be improved using MMs, e.g. improvement in the resolution of biomedical ultrasound imaging for cancer diagnosis, the design of better spinal implants, monitoring of bone healing, and the use of insoles to aid human walking. Another area of interest is to develop MMs that can be used for energy harvesting, to better power e.g. medical devices, and reduce reliance on conventional power sources. These are all backed up by fundamental studies into the MMs themselves to provide the background to achieve these tasks. The balance of the network has thus been carefully considered in terms of basic science and applications, with input from industry in areas such as MMs fabrication and exploitation. Associated with the above is a strong set of training events and tailored secondment periods for both associated partners and beneficiaries. Visit www.metacmed.eu for further information.

The objectives of this project are:
(1) Design and construct holey-structured MMs for close-range sub-wavelength imaging
(2) Develop a testing apparatus in water tanks
(3) Demonstrate a hybrid method using MMs and lenses on test phantoms
(4) Investigate Multiphysics MMs aided by AI for possible use in biomedical applications

Eligibility: Only applicants who have not been resident in the UK for more than 12 months in the 36 months preceding the start date, are eligible for this position. Candidates will be required to meet certain Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Researcher eligibility criteria (https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/ ), plus criteria specific to this project, as follows:

• At the effective starting date of this contract, applicants must not have been awarded with a PhD;
• At the effective starting date of this contract, applicants must not have resided in the UK for more than 12 months in the three years immediately prior to the appointment;
• Applicants must have a BSc/BEng or Masters degree in a suitable discipline (e.g. Engineering, Physics, Materials Science etc) and an excellent record of achievement;
• Previous experience with acoustic/mechanical metamaterials modelling, design, and characterization would be welcome;
• Have excellent communication skills in both written and spoken English;
• Ability to and commitment to producing scientific outputs for publication in peer-reviewed journals;
• Evidence of ability to work independently and collaboratively within an international team;

Salary:

The gross salary, including the mobility allowance, will be £4,433 per month. The actual salary received per month by the fellow each month will depend on employer/taxation deductions and personal circumstances at the time of appointment.

Please contact Prof David Hutchins (d.a.hutchins@warwick.ac.uk). When submitting your application. you are kindly asked to also fill out the pre-application module.

For informal inquiries, please contact Dr Stefano Laureti at info@metacmed.eu. Call for Applicants (download here) and have a look at the MetacMed website (www.metacmed.eu) to stay up-to-date!

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